As expected, the associations of female critics have a slightly different take on the best and worst films of the year than the male-dominated critic groups. One thing that makes them fun is the extra categories, like Most Offensive Male Characters, Most Egregious Age Difference Between Leading Man, and Love Interest and Actress in Need of a New Agent.
The Women Film Critics Circle Awards 2008
BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
Changeling
BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
Frozen River

BEST STORYTELLER [Screenwriting Award]
Jennifer Lumet: Rachel Getting Married
BEST ACTRESS:
Melissa Leo: Frozen River
BEST ACTOR
Mickey Rourke: The Wrestler
BEST YOUNG ACTRESS:
Abigail Breslin: Kit Kittredge and Definitely Maybe
BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS: *TIE*
Sally Hawkins: Happy-Go-Lucky
Meryl Streep: Mamma Mia!
BEST FOREIGN FILM
I’ve Loved You So Long
BEST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE:
The Secret Life Of Bees
BEST UNRELEASED MOVIE:
How The Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer
BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES:
Nothing But The Truth
BEST MUSIC:
Cadillac Records
BEST ANIMATED FEMALE :
Eve: WALL-E
BEST FAMILY FILM
WALL-E
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:
Meryl Streep
ACTING AND ACTIVISM: Natalie Portman
ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women:
Changeling
JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: For best expressing the woman of color experience in America:
Ballast
KAREN MORLEY AWARD: For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity:
Battle In Seattle
COURAGE IN ACTING:
Deidra Edwards in DisFigured: For redefining conventional standards of female physical beauty and pride on screen, and promoting positive images of big bodied women.
BEST DOCUMENTARIES:
GROUNDBREAKER:
A Walk To Beautiful: Mary Olive Smith
ABOVE AND BEYOND:
Wings Of Defeat: Risa Morimoto
COURAGE IN FILMMAKING:
Traces Of The Trade: Katrina Browne
MOST OFFENSIVE MALE CHARACTERS
Aaron Eckhart: Towelhead
Sam Rockwell: Choke
Larry Bishop: Hell Ride
Paul Rudd, Sean William Scott: Role Models
Jason Mewes: Zack And Miri Make a Porno
TOP TEN HALL OF SHAME
Roman Polanski: Wanted And Desired
House Of The Sleeping Beauties
The Women
The Life Before Her Eyes
The Hottie and the No ttie
Savage Grace
Made Of Honor
The Family That Preys
Hounddog
Zack And Miri Make A PornoAlliance of Women Film Journalists
Best Film
Slumdog Millionaire
Best Direction
Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire
Best Screenplay Original
Wall-E – Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Jim Reardon
Best Screenplay Adapted
Frost/Nixon – Peter Morgan
Best Documentary (Tie)
Man On Wire – James Marsh
Trouble The Water – Tia Lessen, Carl Deal
Best Actress (Tie)
Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky
Kate Winslet – The Reader and Revolutionary Road
Best Actress In Supporting Role
Viola Davis – Doubt
Best Actor
Sean Penn – Milk
Best Actor in Supporting Role
Heath Ledger – Dark Knight
Best Ensemble Cast
Rachel Getting Married
Best Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall
Best Foreign Film
Tell No One
EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS
Best Woman Director
Courtney Hunt – Frozen River
Best Woman Screenwriter
Jenny Lumet – Rachel Getting Married
Best Breakthrough Performance
Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Newcomer
Misty Upham – Frozen River
Women’s Image Award
Kristin Scott Thomas
Hanging in There Award for Persistence
Melissa Leo – Frozen River
Actress Defying Age and Ageism
Catherine Deneuve – A Christmas Tale
2008 Outstanding Achievement By A Woman In The Film Industry
Sheila Nevins, Producing/Programming at HBO
Lifetime Achievement Award
Catherine Deneuve
AWFJ Award For Humanitarian Activism
All of the Women in Pray The Devil Back To Hell
EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS
AWFJ Hall Of Shame Award
27 Dresses
Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent
Kate Hudson
Movie You Wanted To Love But Just Couldn’t (Tie)
Mamma Mia!
The Women
Best Of The Fests
Hunger
Unforgettable Moment Award (Tie)
Dark Knight: Joker’s first scene
Slumdog Millionaire: Young Jamal jumps into the poop
Best Depiction Of Nudity or Sexuality (Tie)
Elegy
The Reader
Best Seduction
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Sequel That Shouldn’t Have Been Made Award (Tie)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Saw V
The Remake That Shouldn’t Have Been Made Award:
The Women
Cultural Crossover Award
Slumdog Millionaire
Bravest Performance Award
Mickey Rourke – The Wrester
Best Leap from Actress to Director Award
Helen Hunt – Then She Found Me
Most Egregious Age Difference Between Leading Man and Love Interest
The Wackness – Ben Kingsley and Mary-Kate Olsen

Nell Minow

Moviemom is a trademark of Nell Minow. All content copyright 1995-2016 Nell Minow All rights reserved.

Movie Mom's Archives
Movie Mom's full archives of more than 2,500 reviews (including her 200 best films for families), 400 interviews with filmmakers and 4,000 blog posts is now on Beliefnet for searching.